PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Gets an “Ultimate Balance” Update – Are People Still Playing This?

Sony Santa Monica has just released an enormous update for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. The whole thing features more than 100 balance changes and tweaks, and you can read the full rundown here.

GENERAL CHANGES

Every character’s throw attempts have been standardized to 9 startup frames, 3 active frames, and 18 recovery frames, with the exception of Isaac, Kat, and Ratchet.

The minimum effective range of throws has been increased to 1 meter (previously 0.75m) for all characters except Parappa, Sackboy, and Toro.

In online matches, jumping out of an opponent’s throw attempt is now resolved through the throw clash system.

Every character’s air dodge has been standardized to 27 invincible frames followed by 9 vulnerable frames (previously 29 invincible plus 7 vulnerable).

Every character’s directional rolls have been standardized to 18 invincible frames followed by 16 vulnerable frames, with the exception of Fat Princess, Spike, and Zeus.

Characters can no longer perform actions for 3 frames after landing from air idle.

Which brings me to the question in my headline: Are people still playing this? I mean, kudos to Sony here for rolling out a huge update this late in a game’s lifespan; but, I really wonder how many users are jumping for joy over this.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was, without a doubt, Sony’s crack at the Smash Bros. style of crossover gaming. We can all agree that it didn’t perform nearly as well as Nintendo’s title, regardless of how fun and solid it really was. I still see Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments popping up all over the place, but I never see them for this Sony offering.

I find it incredibly surprising and honestly exciting that Sony is still supporting this game. Really, it’s awesome. I’ll ask again, though…